Cheung Ka Long
Edgar Cheung Ka Long is a Hong Kong left-handed foil fencer, two-time Olympic champion and two-time individual Asian champion, having won the gold medal at the Fencing at the [2020 Summer Olympics – Men's foil|2020] and 2024 Summer Olympics – Men's foil|2024 Summer Olympics].
Cheung is the first athlete representing Hong Kong in history to win consecutive Olympic gold medals and the second to become an Olympic champion, after windsurfer Lee Lai Shan. He is also the fourth non-European and third Asian to do so, after Ramón Fonst, Kim Young-ho, and Lei Sheng.
Career
Cheung Ka-long was born to parents who both played national league basketball in Hong Kong. He took up fencing in the fourth grade. In 2013, he was named Hong Kong's Most Promising Young Athlete at the Hong Kong Sports Stars Awards. In 2014, he was named an Outstanding Junior Athlete by the Hong Kong Sports Institute; he won a bronze in team foil at the Asian Fencing Championships and at the Asian Games that same year. In 2015, he earned two bronzes, one in individual foil and another in team foil during the Asian Fencing Championships. In 2016, he won gold and a bronze in team in the Asian Fencing Championships. At the Olympics in Fencing at the [2016 Summer Olympics – Men's foil|foil], he defeated Heo Jun in the round of 32 before losing to Guilherme Toldo in the round of 16, finishing 14th overall. In 2017, Cheung won gold in individual foil at the 2017 [Junior and Cadet World Fencing Championships |Junior World Championships]. He then earned a silver medal in individual foil and a bronze in team foil in the Asian Fencing Championships |Asian Fencing Championships]. In 2018, he won a silver in team foil at the Asian Fencing Championships along with a bronze in individual foil and a silver in team foil at the Asian Games |Asian Games]. In 2019, he earned a silver medal in the Turin Grand Prix, a bronze in the Anaheim Grand Prix as well as a silver in individual foil and a bronze in team foil at the Asian Fencing Championships.In 2021 at the Olympics |Tokyo Olympics], Cheung and Tse Ying Suet were the flag bearers for Hong Kong. In 2020 Summer Olympics – Men's foil |foil], he defeated Julien Mertine in the round of 32, 2018 world champion Alessio Foconi in the round of 16, Kirill Borodachev in the quarterfinals and Alexander Choupenitch in the semifinals. In the final he faced the reigning Olympic champion Daniele Garozzo; after trailing 1–4 he fought back to win by a score of 15–11. This was Hong Kong's first Olympic gold medal in fencing and its second-ever gold. For his achievements, he was awarded the Silver Bauhinia Star, the highest possible award for an actively competing athlete.
In the 2024 Paris Olympics, Cheung successfully defended his men's foil gold medal, defeating Italian Filippo Macchi 15–14 in the final bout.
Cheung is the third man to retain an Olympic foil title, after Nedo Nadi and Christian d'Oriola.
Impact
The term "Ka-long effect" was coined after his historic gold in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Fencing schools in Hong Kong witnessed a surge in calls from parents wanting their kids to take up lessons, as the sport received a huge boost in popularity. The phenomenon reoccurred in 2024 after his and Vivian Kong's fencing gold-medal wins at the 2024 Paris Olympics.Cheung's victory over Italian fencer Filippo Macchi in the 2024 Paris Olympic finals, sparked a conflict between Hong Kong and Italian netizens. Cheung's Instagram page was flooded with comments claiming Italy had been 'robbed'; in response, Hong Kong fans taunted the Italians by expressing their fondness of pineapple pizza and soy sauce spaghetti, in an effort to poke fun at the Italian disdain for pineapple as a pizza topping and to deride on Italian cuisine. As a playful response to the online exchange, Pizza Hut branches in Hong Kong and Macao announced free pineapple toppings on their pizzas from 6 pm on July 30 until July 31, joining in the lighthearted jabs at Italian netizens resentful of Cheung's Olympic win.